


Brothers

by Orion_Ultor



Series: A Company Town [1]
Category: Eureka (TV), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Nathan Arno Stark
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-12
Updated: 2021-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-19 11:15:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 912
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29998527
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Orion_Ultor/pseuds/Orion_Ultor
Summary: While in captivity, Tony resolved to atone for many of his sins, to right the wrongs that had been done. On his return, he came to know that not all wrongs can be undone or even fixed with the news of his brother's death while he was away.
Relationships: Tony Stark & Nathan Stark
Series: A Company Town [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2206725
Kudos: 3





	Brothers

With the steady beat of his hammer, as he slowly forged his armor to form, Tony began to wrestle with that fire of ambition that burned in his chest and giving it a breath of purpose and slowly feeding it with every remorse. There were many, from the obvious pain in his chest, a very _real_ reminder of the consequences that _his_ creations had brought upon the world, to the more recent, where one of the Ten Rings guys ~~_Hisham Al-Ghazzawi_~~ was shot for being _kind_ to him*.

But among the ones he returned to the most, were the relationships he had with the people around him; the burned bridges and wasted opportunities. There were almost too many to name, from his girlfriend when he was 19 ( _he shouldn't have left her like that, Hope had always deserved more_ ) to that new intern from three years ago ( _coulda been a little nicer to that klutz, what was his name...Fargo?_ ), but Dad, Mamma, Nathan, Aunt Peggy, Jarvis, Ana, Obi, Hope, Rhodey, Cousin Jack, Cousin Sharon, JARVIS, Happy, Pepper and more were all frequent visitors to the party.

Putting away hammer, Tony took the armor plate, quenching it in acid; as soon as he was back, he resolved, he was going to visit them all and set things right as best he could.

* * *

Tony slumped in the backseat of the limo, staring out a thousand yards ahead as they pulled away from the Press Conference, continuing to chow down on his Whopper, gulping it down with a Coke, almost on autopilot.

He hadn't gone with his first instinct, to completely shut down the weapons division, instead choosing to halt all production until a full-scale investigation, with full transparency to the U.S. Government and its people, had been completed. In the meantime, he promised, that while that was going on, the he and the company would be refocusing most of their energy and productivity on the other divisions, primarily on defense and biotech. By the time he'd left, he had nearly twelve new ideas bouncing around in his head, most of which he was absentmindedly sketching out on ~~napkins~~ his rough ideas pad.

Grabbing a second burger, he asked:

"Pepper, one thing before we get to Dr. Blake. Tomorrow, I'd like to start setting up some appointments with a number of people, nothing official or really all that job related, something more offline, really, but I really need to see them. Start with Nathan, I want to fix things."

As he said this, he spotted both Happy and Pepper freeze in place, and if their paling faces wasn't enough of a clue, the tears that returned with a force to Pepper's eyes made that sinking sense of dread begin to sink in his stomach.

"Tony...I-" she began, before steeling herself "-there was an accident. Nathan passed away almost two weeks ago."

* * *

Tony stared at his brother's headstone, the flowers he was carrying heavier than the stone he kept in his other hand. 

Before Afghanistan, Tony hadn't seen Nathan much, if at all, in the nearly twenty years since their parent's funeral. Before that, they'd been close once but the years of living under Howard's shitty parenting ( _a good father does not equal a good dad_ ) had estranged them, the effects of it readily apparent when taking a good look at the both of them; where he grew resentful and rebellious, Nathan became more withdrawn and strived for approval ( _weird how Tony stayed with the company and Nathan had just...left_ ). They disagreed on a lot of things, not always seeing eye-to-eye on everything, but the night of the funeral saw them both come to blows after certain words were spoken out of turn in a drunken stupor.

That fight, more than their parent's death and all that entailed, had led to their estrangement. They'd spoken on occasion, like the various award's ceremonies for their companies and Nathan being granted Nobel Prize, his marriage, divorce, re-engagement...but it was never really the same after that, damn both their pride. But...standing here, at his brother's grave, Tony couldn't help but wonder about all that wasted time. 

If there was anything in his life that he regretted more, Tony doubted it. He could fix everything, anything, but this? This was something that had met a more final end than he...than he could appreciate.

> _"He called and visited almost everyday while you were gone, sir."_

Knowing that, he couldn't help but think ' _If only_ ', as he gently placed the flowers and stone upon his brother's grave. 

"Here's to the next life, kid brother. I...I'll miss you," he said, lamely.

A moment passed, a gentle breeze passing by, the sun lazily shining down.

"It's a terrible day for rain."

* * *

"I built this company from nothing! Nothing is going to stand in my way." ~~Obi~~ Stane growled out from his suit, as he threw Tony through a bus, "Least of all you...or your brother."

A sick sense of unease grew in Tony's chest, sparking a deep-seated rage in his heart, even as he was battered by the explosion. What had Stane done?!

Hours later, as investigators combed through the Obidiah's materials and uncovered more and more of the man's schemes, treason and more ( _Sokovia was_ next), Tony's suspicions were confirmed.

In the privacy of his home and weary from all of the day's events, he wept openly once more for what could have been.


End file.
